“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

More and more, when you go to a high school sporting event or even a practice, you’ll find the teams warming up to music being blared over the loud speakers or athletes working out to music. Some of the more popular songs are relatively harmless, such as Van Halen’s “Jump,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” However, some songs have lyrics and content that are not necessarily safe for school or work. They contain violence, sexual imagery, drug and alcohol use, and more.

It’s a big topic, and one might think that it’s not all that important with respect to the bigger picture of the sports we coach, but nonetheless, music is a part of our everyday lives. Our athletes rely on it to set a tone, to get in the “zone,” or to help them focus. Music entertains the crowds as they wait for the big game to begin. Yet if you truly listen to the lyrics of some of the most popular warm-up songs at sporting events, you might be shocked at the content and language.

So, what can we, as coaches, do about it?

Proverbs says to guard your heart – the entrance of your heart, the doorway through which things get in and out. We must model this for our athletes and serve as the custodian and protector at some points. This means that we ought to seriously consider what we allow them to play when they ask for music during practices or game warm-ups. The things that we let into our hearts include those things that build us up, as well as those things that corrupt us. If we let in ungodly things, we become ungodly, but if we let in godly things, we become more godly.

Like I said before, music is a vital component of our lives. Yet you must always be true to your heart. If you want to lead by example and provide a model for your athletes as to how to live as a Christian, you need to remember that what you do comes from what is within your heart. If you have the right beliefs, vision, and values, then you will stay true to them. Your athletes will see this in your daily actions, and they will take note.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the king’s chief advisor, a man named Polonius, tells his son, “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not be false to any man” (Act I, Scene 3). While Polonius is a pompous and hypocritical character in the play, his words are often quoted, and they echo the sentiment of Solomon’s proverb perfectly.

My advice to you is to set your vision and be true to it. Are you looking for continuing education with coaching? Try the 3-Dimensional Coaching course that is offered by the 3D Institute. As I worked through the steps to attain my Silver Coaches Certification for USA Wrestling, I got to take this great course. One of the final tasks is to create a “Transformational Purpose Statement.” Mine was “To empower athletes to become citizens who will lead, persevere, and remain loyal to faith and family.”

Moment of Kaizen:

• For pre-game warm-ups or practices, what are some good songs that are popular, bring the energy your players want, and echo Christian values?
• How can you improve the way in which you model your purpose as a coach so that your athletes can better pick up on it?
• In what ways do you guard your heart and Christian values so that they do not become corrupted by the temptations around you?

Related Passage: “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45)

The enduring struggle of being a Christian coach and a servant leader is to remain true to your values and who you are. Keep up with the times and know what temptations face your athletes, and at the same time, work to counter these temptations and provide a Christian model to your athletes.

August 1, 2021

This article is a part of a series of Coaches Devotionals that I will be writing over the course of the next year. Please click here if you would like to receive email notifications when a new devotional is published.